I know I will sound like a "fuddy duddy," but it seems that some of those older shows had much, much better writing than most of the new shows. There are exceptions, however.

I think "Elementary" ultimately had very good writing, even if the "Holmes" character frequently put me off. (But I did like the Captain and Detective Bell).

"Blue Bloods" frequently has good writing.

"Hawaii Five-Oh" frequently annoys the heck out of me, as any real law enforcement agency that acted as they do would generate so many law suits against the state ... enough said.

I did not like every episode of "The Orville," but they did manage a few good ones.

To some extent, I watched "The 100" as long as I did more for the "character development." "John Murphy" was interesting as a person who moved back and forth from being a villain to being a hero almost at need. When it really counts, he manages to put his own self-interest aside, and there is a stubborn streak of loyalty to the group, or at least some members of the group that he does not seem quite able to put aside. But as noted it has in this season become just too dark, and I have cancelled my pass to it.

I could comment on other shows, but I will stop here.

Jamey Johnston:

I do not have Amazon Prime, pretty much just the basic package (which lets me access "Youtube" for example). I am just not willing to pay for more. I am old, and remember the days when the cost of watching TV was having to wait through commercials, and pay for the TV set and the electricity to operate it, and the house to shelter it from the elements (well ... the house sheltered more than the the TV). Now it seems like every time I turn around they are trying to get me to shell out more money to see a handful of shows I might want to watch and a tremendous amount of dreck. (Truthfully, there was always dreck, but the dreck these days seems just so much more 'drecky' than back then).

By Jamey Johnston (Totino) on Friday, August 09, 2019 - 06:55 pm: Edit

Steve:

Yeah totally get that. The whole entertainment delivery is getting very crazy these days. I'm 45 so maybe not "old" exactly but I remember when basically you had commercial TV for "free" (as you said with purchase of a TV), then for a while Cable was an OK deal but that's gotten parted out (in a bad way), and everything else it's a sub just for a few shows. Aggravating for sure.

I have Amazon Prime because I use their delivery service for a lot of things (I live in a city where I can get 1-4 hour delivery on most household items and groceries). So the shows are just a freebie for me. And yeah, "The Boys" is definitely very graphic, not for everyone.

By John Sickels (Johnsickels) on Friday, August 09, 2019 - 07:00 pm: Edit

Before getting into Naked City, my wife and I watched every episode of the 1950s black-and-white Dragnet we could find, followed by a police drama called Decoy, about a police woman on special assignment in New York City in 1957. The show only lasted one season but it was really good.

After we are done with Naked City we will turn to Route 66.

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Saturday, August 10, 2019 - 01:05 am: Edit

I liked Elementary/ Sherlock, "the League," "Sea Patrol," "Chuck," and "Lucifer," but only could watch what was on our SHARE DRIVE in Afghanistan using my laptop.

An older show I watched was "Blackadder" which was very British.

My wifes family is camped out on my back porch watching Philippino telenovellas and game shows pretty much 24/7 on their ancient TV. If I ever meet "VONG NAVARRO!" in person it will be an effort to not punch him out just because I had to endure days of stories about him years ago... https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/24/14/vhong-navarro-beaten-threatened-inside-fort-condo

I haven't even owned a TV for something like 30 years. But with 2 boys and them getting so cheap, I guess I will get one once I drag April & the boys to America (assuming the State Department ever does their job and issues the visas).

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Saturday, August 10, 2019 - 03:58 pm: Edit

Come on Mike, you mean you have not become engrossed in the General's Daughter or Kadenang Ginto's story lines

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Sunday, August 11, 2019 - 12:06 am: Edit

Nope. Never even heard of them.

I see that "the generals daughter" (from wiki) is a Philippino series. And as such probably is IN Tagalog. With the attendant bad/ over acting.

I read the wiki summary of "Kadenang Ginto" and it also sounds like an awful telenovela.

You really have't suffered until you have seen some of the scene chewing overacting on Philippine soaps.

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Sunday, August 11, 2019 - 12:54 am: Edit

End up watching with sub-titles turned on, so at least I can understand what is being said. I do think the translations are funny sometimes as it is not how I would have translated it.

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Monday, August 12, 2019 - 01:54 am: Edit

You speak Tagalog? My wife is curious.

I forgot to also say, I liked watching "Archer" on the ShareDrive, too...

"Altered Carbon"
"Sea Patrol"
"the Americans"

etc

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Monday, August 12, 2019 - 08:37 pm: Edit

I speak enough not to get sold when we are in Manila and Batangas. LOL

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Tuesday, August 13, 2019 - 09:33 am: Edit

So, your wife trained you...

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 - 11:38 pm: Edit

Just learned so when we are at a Fil/AM event so I can understand what is being talked about.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Saturday, January 09, 2021 - 01:53 pm: Edit

The season 2 soundtrack is set to be released both digitally and as a 2 CD collection later this month.

No prizes for guessing the "identity" of which track I'll be most looking forward to...

By Charles Gray (Cgray45) on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - 12:14 am: Edit

I have to admit, that while I like some of the star trek shows, teh orville gave me a far bigger feeling of the TOS than the newer star trek shows, especially with the mix of comedy and serious episodes. (IE, just like STar Trek had "the trouble with tribbles" and "Balance of Terror." )

I also like some of the interaction with the crew, that sounds much more like peole talking while they're working a slow shift than what you get in newer shows.

I must admit, I am confused why so many critics seem to hate it. I mean, like it or dislike the level of vitrol just seems... odd.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - 11:08 am: Edit

Because of the low humor, at times, I'd guess.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - 12:00 pm: Edit

That, and many of the critically acclaimed shows are so thick with drama you couldn't cut through it with a chainsaw. Orville has some drama, but most of it is relaxed so it is easier to watch.

I still don't like the show because of a lot of it's content, so I gave it up before season 1 was even up. But I do prefer that style.

Drama is fine, but not hyper-drama every second of every episode (like, say, the Expanse).

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - 02:27 am: Edit

Galaxy Quest is a good one.

(except for all the grossness, the Orville is kind of similar in ways to the Galaxy Quest)

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 - 09:16 am: Edit

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Orville are now available on Disney+ in Canada, via its new Star sub-service.

Star is being added to Disney+ in various countries which do not already have Hulu, and includes a number of Hulu series which have not otherwise been licenced to other streaming services.

I'm not sure which other countries getting Star are also getting The Orville on it, however.

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Quote:

I gave it up before season 1 was even up.

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By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 12:43 pm: Edit

Season 3 of The Orville is set to premiere on Hulu in the United States on the 10th of March 2022.

No word yet if/when it might stream in other countries. In Canada at least, seasons 1 and 2 are listed under the "Star" heading on Disney+.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, February 04, 2022 - 09:02 pm: Edit

On the one hand, season 3's US premiere date has been pushed back to the 2nd of June.

On the other hand, a new preview clip has been posted.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, May 13, 2022 - 10:35 am: Edit

A new trailer has been posted to the Hulu YouTube channel.

Also, it appears that season 3 is indeed set to stream on Disney+ in Canada.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, June 02, 2022 - 01:23 pm: Edit

A reminder that the first episode of season 3 is now available on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in Canada and elsewhere.

One brief comment: the new remote drones look like they were designed by someone in the Inter-Stellar Concordium...

By Charles Gray (Cgray45) on Thursday, August 25, 2022 - 03:08 am: Edit

I think, we're far enough out of season 2-3 that spoilers won't be disliked--but I loved the kids response to Isaac. The younger child not really taking in the whole complexity of the situation, and the older child having severe issues with what was frankly an immense betrayal and trauma worked.

And I love Charly in it. She was not going to save Isaac, she hated him. But she was an adult, and realized that Marcus, a *child* would never forgive himself if Isaac died, because he believed no matter what people told him, that he was responsible for it. Therefore, she saved Isaac, not because of any emotional turn on her part, but because it was her responsibility as an officer and adult to protect a civilian and child.

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Thursday, August 25, 2022 - 11:00 am: Edit

I'm avoiding previous comments in case of spoilers. How good is The Orville? I've thought about starting it but my GF is a hard sell. She's a big Star Trek fan and I think she's worried it'll tick her off. LOL

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, August 25, 2022 - 11:45 am: Edit

I like Orville myself. I've only watched most of Season 1 so I don't know about the other seasons yet. It feels to me like a humorous TNG. Some of the humor is a bit crude, but not overly so (to my taste). And it is definitely funny. When it transitions from "humor mode" to "story mode" many of the scenes and situations can feel TNG-ish.

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the show as well as the actor playing the captain, has mentioned in interviews that in some ways Orville is a tribute to the TNG show that he loves, while at the same time somewhat lamenting the different direction some of the more recent ST films and TV shows have gone in.

If you like TNG, I'd recommend watching the first 3 episodes of Orville and seeing for yourself. I would not just watch the pilot and judge the show based soley upon that.

--Mike

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, August 25, 2022 - 12:14 pm: Edit

I didn't like Orville and stopped watching after a few episodes. But that is my opinion.

I can't discuss why, it would violate BBS rules.